The Perfect Combination

Rated M

Disclaimer & Full Synopsis:

Shonda & CO own all characters here; I merely play in their world and try to treat them well. After a rough Calzona season, I needed to go back and revisit what makes Callie and Arizona so amazing as a forever couple. This is my first fic – largely a filler piece for the space between Alex & Izzie's wedding and the "Holy stethoscopes! They're in bed, eating pizza…naked!" scene at the end of What a Difference a Day Makes (Season 5, ep 22), but also offers a glimpse into the psyches of our two favorite surgeons before and when they met. Some awesome online buds suggested the inclusion of an elevator scene & a reference to calzone (the food), so I did my best there. I used a public domain version of a song I needed lyrics for at a crucial moment, so no copyright infringement intended, etc. Oh, and the story contains a very large dollop of smut, so if that's not your deal, you might want to skip over that part. I welcome and respond to feedback but if you're mean about it, I'll just cry. I hope you enjoy the ride. **Special thanks to my Beta and wife, Susan, for making absolutely everything in my life better.

Chapter 1

Sitting in the pew next to Arizona Robbins, Callie Torres beamed with an exhilaration that had little to do with their reason for being in the church. As the bride and groom pledged their vows and tears flowed from friends and coworkers, Callie's attention drifted toward reflecting on how it came to be that she and Arizona would spend this evening together. Memories bombarded her one by one. Her first thought was that no one would have blamed her if she'd walked away in a huff back when the condescending – albeit ridiculously hot – pediatric surgeon dismissed her as a babe-in-the-lesbian-woods. But giving up really wasn't in the Torres genes.

"A 'newborn?' Did she just…?" Callie stood indignant, watching as Arizona Robbins walked away. She hoped no one would notice her stealing a glance at the blonde's backside. "Oh, no…she did not." The pursuer would become the pursued. If Callie was intrigued, she'd take chase, and persistency was her middle name. Or rather she wished it were, because "Iphigenia" was a nightmare to explain, defend, and spell while growing up. But intrigued she was. Despite Callie's reluctance to admit to herself or anyone else that this blonde attending…this perky blonde peds attending…made her heart beat wildly and her mouth water on sight, in the end she couldn't deny she was in fact, a very smitten kitten.

It had been very different with George. When Callie heard rumors of his heart-in-the-elevator heroics, it appealed to her inner medigeek. Competence had always been an aphrodisiac for her. She met George, found that he had a wonderful heart and amazing potential as a trauma surgeon, and developed feelings for the shy intern very quickly. Again, once invested, Callie had a tendency to follow through, so although George's affection always seemed a bit reserved, and knowing she was neglecting the strong sense that something was missing, Callie took what George was able to give and hoped that what she felt would be enough to sustain them both. With his subsequent infidelity and their mutual unrest during their brief marriage, she eventually admitted – to herself if no one else – that she had been trying to make the relationship into something it simply wasn't. It didn't help matters that on many occasions she found herself defending her attraction to George.

"I don't get you, Torres. You're hot. I mean, I know hot, and you're it. I never got why you'd waste your time with the likes of O'Malley. He's…he's O'Malley for crying out loud," the plastic surgeon worked his mouth around the man's name with a tinge of revulsion.

"Shut up, Mark," Callie replied, shaking her head.

"Look," he continued, "I get why you spend time with me. We're in tune, we know what gets us off, we're brilliant, and we're spectacular in the sheets..."

"That doesn't even resemble shutting up, Mark," she said with a sigh.

"So how is it" he continued without pause, "that O'Malley even got a second look? I mean, you've had me. How do you go back to…to that?"

"You're a pig, Mark," she finally added with a playful, slightly exasperated look.

"Stop 'Marking' me. He must be hung like a freaking stallion," Mark assessed.

"Why? You're certainly not, and I kept sleeping with you," Callie countered.

"You wound me, Torres."

Callie was raised in a strict, Catholic home by very reserved, traditional parents. She had never said "I love you" to anyone other than family before George; it didn't come easily for her, and it hurt like hell to finally open up and have her feelings crushed. Closing herself off to further romance (and hopefully further pain), casual meetings to blow off pent up sexual energy with self-described sex god and best buddy Mark helped keep her libido in check. That allowed her to focus less on romantic entanglements and more on her work and on having fun hanging with the girls. The sex was really good with Mark, no question. So never in a million years did Callie think she'd find herself wanting to hang out with one particular girl. A lot. Eventually all naked and horizontal-like.

Enter Erica Hahn. The aloof, strong-willed cardiothoracic surgeon was nearly legendary for her work at Seattle Presbyterian, and after she transferred to Seattle Grace, she and Callie fell into an easy friendship. Part of their connection came from commiserating over not having luck with men in the recent past, and over teasing the ever-salacious Mark by playing up their close friendship. Both women took delight in making him think they were engaging in a little girl-on-girl action on the sly. It didn't take long before Callie and Erica realized they loved spending time together above anyone else, and that there actually was something more there to explore. A bit apprehensively, they agreed to date. This was a first for them both, and as things took a natural sexual turn, Callie developed severely cold feet; Polar Ice Cap type cold feet.

"Oh my god, kissing a woman is…" Erica interrupted herself by placing another brief kiss on Callie's lips. Callie's apartment was warm thanks to the still searing hot embers in the fireplace. Truth was, the room would have felt plenty warm without its assistance. They had just started making out, and like it was when pushing any new sexual boundary, even if it wasn't absolutely great, it was one hell of a rush.

"Mmm hmm," was the only response, as her kiss was returned.

"I mean it's so -" Erica continued.

"I know, right?" Callie cut her comment off with another quick kiss. "It's –"

They ended the kiss and spoke at the same time in a rush to sum up the experience.

"Life-affirming!"

"Hot!"

Each woman pulled back a bit, trying to replay and digest what the other said.

"Hang on. Is 'hot' what you get from this, Torres?" Erica asked incredulously as she leaned away.

Callie was taken aback. "What? Well, yeah," she answered matter-of-factly. She paused for a beat when she took in the look on Erica's face. "No?" She shook her head in confusion, ill prepared to sum up her feelings. Erica's response then echoed through her mind. "Wait. Did you just say 'life-affirming?'" she asked with the crook of one eyebrow. "Wow. That's…wow." Callie unconsciously leaned further away. She suddenly felt they were on different pages of a very large, complex book.

"I know. It's pretty wow, I know," Erica said. "But this, this is what I've always thought I was supposed to feel" she said, her hands motioning between herself and Callie. "It was never this way with anyone before. It feels like things finally make sense. Being here with you right now, it's like the puzzle pieces are falling into place," she said, taking Callie's hands into her own. "Like everything that didn't fit in my life before just…does. Don't you get that too?"

Callie wished she did. Instead she felt a tingle go through her spine, much the way she did in high school when she was made fun of by the cool girls. A self-described "back of the room hair-eater," Callie was never part of the "in" crowd. Her body experienced a flight or fight sensation whenever she was called out, and sitting here with Erica in this moment, even as an accomplished adult, she once again found herself on the outside looking in, not getting it, and feeling guilty for not being on board. Why did everything have to be so complicated? All she knew is that she enjoyed this woman and she was having a great time with her. Granted, Erica was a very intense person in all aspects of her life. Maybe that was part of the problem. Callie was having fun exploring and enjoying the journey, while Erica was already busy throwing a victory party at the finish line.

"Erica, believe me, this is good. It's all…very, very good," Callie said as she squeezed Erica's hands and smiled. "I mean, I don't know if it's suddenly shown me the meaning of God and life, but it's really –"

"Callie, don't joke. Seriously, what are we doing here? What is this to you?" Erica implored.

Callie felt awful for not initially comprehending that Erica was having a breakthrough of some sort, and she never meant to make light of her feelings. As for the answer to Erica's question, she honestly didn't have one, and that bothered them both. But they genuinely enjoyed being with each other, and continued to explore the relationship cautiously, mostly without dissecting or examining it to closely.

One thing was clear; after practicing the fine art of the birds and the bees from a heterosexual perspective her entire adult life, Callie was anything but confident in terms of her ability to satisfy another woman. To top it off, she was equally uncertain if she would be able to relax and enjoy that level of sexual intimacy with a woman once they finally reached that point. Sure enough, when they did take that leap, Callie froze. Not being able to "taste the local cuisine" as Bailey once referred to it, Callie felt like a total failure in Sapphic Love 101. The opportunity to go down on Erica was certainly there, but Callie just couldn't do it. It was something she knew she should do, but lacked the confidence – and even worse – the desire to.

She'd already embarrassed the hell out of herself and Bailey in the aforementioned conversation which Callie wished never to relive, and after getting – for lack of a better phrase – "first-hand" pointers from the always willing Mark, she approached Erica again. She did so, as she would later reflect, a bit more in the spirit of an "A" student trying to perfect a lesson, than as a woman full of excitement and desire rushing to the arms of her lover. Good at pretty much everything she'd ever tried other than public speaking, Callie privately struggled with the realization that she went back to Erica with something to prove rather than with feelings to convey.

Afterward, though Erica said the sex was mind-blowing and life altering (which was, again, a little heavy on the drama for Callie), the blonde had abruptly walked away from her job and their relationship over a conflict involving a coworker. Erica's reaction to one disagreement, coupled with lingering opposing views on where the relationship stood, gave Callie pretty solid evidence that their involvement wasn't meant to last. But she was hurt nonetheless by not having the chance to find out, and she was still trying to figure out why sex with a woman didn't turn her away from being interested in having sex with men. Or man. Mark. She could still count on Mark for a good time when she was between relationships, which confused her even more.

"I just don't get this. If I'm…" Callie wasn't sure what terms applied to her or if she needed to use any at all; this was all so new to her. "If I…am…whatever…shouldn't it be different with you than it is with her? Shouldn't I not like sex with you? Or like sex more with her?" She'd met Mark for lunch at the cafeteria but had trouble finding her appetite, and sat absentmindedly picking at her salad.

"Cal, you really have to stop getting hung up on labels. Chill and enjoy it. You're a hot, sexual woman, ride the wave. If you're bi, you're bi. It's hot," Mark chided.

"Jesus, Mark. Everything's 'hot' to you," Callie said. She recalled irritating Erica with that same word. Shaking off the memory and her sour mood, she continued. "I swear if you looked at this long enough, you'd have a pup tent in your pants," she said, holding up her Spork that speared a cherry tomato. "You have a one track penis, you know that?" she laughed. "Besides, 'bi' is a label, too," she added.

She wasn't a stranger to the concept of bisexuality, but needed to warm up to the idea that it might apply to her. Did it really just hit her in her early 30s that she's actually into men and women? Or was it just Erica? Maybe that would never happen again. Maybe it was just something about the two of them together. That confused Callie even more, because at the heart of it, she always felt something was missing in her relationship with Erica, too. But now she hand first-hand knowledge that there was a lot that was far beyond alluring in being with a woman, and she couldn't imagine not experiencing that again. At the heart of it, what she hoped to find in a relationship seemed an impossible combination; the fairytale she attempted to build with George, the physical chemistry she had with Mark, and the friendship and companionship that came so easily with Erica.